Caution with Fireworks Urged as 4th of July Approaches


Hearing the sound of oohs and aahs from fireworks being launched over the water is a summertime tradition for many Johnson Lakers. But with the tradition comes a risk and a cost.





The U.S. Fire Administration reports an estimated 23,200 fireworks fires in 2002 caused approximately $35 million in property loss; Almost 60 percent of those fires occurred during the month of July around the Independence Day holiday, according to a new report from the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Fire safety experts say children under age 15 suffered 45 percent of the 9,300 injuries from fireworks. Firecrackers, sparklers and bottle rockets are the leading contributors to these injuries. Care should be taken that sparklers, which burn at several hundred degrees, are lit only outdoors, away from combustible material, and under adult supervision. Small children should not be allowed to handle sparklers and older children only after being instructed. A bucket of water or a container of sand should be provided for the hot wires, and a fire extinguisher should be available.

More than half of all fireworks-related injuries involve burns. One of every three fireworks injuries is to the eyes. One of every four fireworks eye injuries means some kind of permanent blindness. Fireworks not only damage eyes but hands, fingers, faces, ears and bodies. They burn, cut and puncture. Fireworks are gunpowder explosives and are just plain dangerous.

Fireworks can be even more dangerous around Johnson Lake, because sparks and misfired rockets can easily start fires in our heavily wooded paradise. If a firework you light starts a fire, you could be liable for damages.

Beyond the danger, fireworks pose an environmental cost. Anyone who's cleaned their beaches after the 4th also knows all of the chemical-laced cardboard, sticks and plastic parts don't evaporate when the rockets exploded. They fall into the water and pollute our lake and beaches.

It's not realistic to expect silence around Johnson Lake on the 4th. Traditions die hard. If you do decide to stage your own show, be careful. Otherwise, please enjoy one of the many communities or even the Hole in the Wall casino They'll be glad to put on a show much larger than you could, and do it for free.

Posted: Mon - June 19, 2006 at 09:58 PM      

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